U.S. Consumer OK to Share Location Data with Retailer in Exchange for Value

As iBeacon and other Bluetooth-based presence systems for retailers are all the hype it is interesting to understand how consumers are likely to adopt those and who they trust to use their location data.

Swirl Networks, an in-store mobile marketing platform provider, has polled U.S. consumers about their willingness to receive beacon-triggered alerts. Swirl’s study found that 77 percent of consumers would be willing to share their smartphone location data (a prerequisite for beacon-triggered campaigns) as long as they received enough value in return.

The study also revealed that consumers are more likely to entrust their location information to their favorite retailers (65 percent) than to shopping/deals apps (45 percent), Google (42 percent) or a social app like Facebook (37 percent).

Swirl commissioned independent research firm ResearchNow to study the mobile and shopping preferences of 1,000 consumers in November 2013.